


Hidden Fans

by JustAndrea



Category: Batman - All Media Types, The LEGO Batman Movie
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen, slight spoilers for the Lego Batman movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 08:36:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9811550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: Even after he happily took up the title of Robin, Dick couldn’t help but think of Batman as the real hero while he was just the sidekick. Still a great role, of course, but still just the sidekick. But as it turns out, there are quite a few people who disagree with him on that.





	

They were completely surrounded by robotic penguins. The giant, metal umbrella that had been set up was counting down, preparing to lift up the entire Gotham City Bank (as well as all the people inside) and take it who knows where! There were even a couple small explosions that thankfully weren’t close enough to hurt him, but still made his ears ring a bit.

Just another night in Gotham. But hey, it was nothing they couldn’t handle.

“Robin, take care of the rest of these things, okay?” he heard Batman tell him, just as he finished punching out one last robot, “I’m going after Penguin and his umbrella.”

“You got it, Padre!” Dick chimed. He looked away from his battle for just a moment - just long enough to see his father shoot his grappling hook onto the roof of the bank and fly up towards it - before looking back and giving his feathery, robotic foe a strong *POW!* kick! 

The three robots remaining squawked loudly at him, and while Dick did flinch a bit at the volume, the Boy Wonder still continued giving a determined look. If these guys wanted to play, then he was going to play! 

Two of the robo-penguins rushed forward, but just as they reached them, Dick jumped. He managed to jump on the head of the first one (landing hard enough to knock it out), get a couple good punches on the other one, and then backflipped back just as they started to fall. 

“Ha! Yes!” he cheered, grinning now. Though, he reminded himself not to get _too_ excited. There was still one left, and based on how it was glaring at him, it wasn’t going to go down easily…

Eyes glowing red, the robo-penguin crouched down. Thinking it was going to try to tackle him, Dick crouched down a bit as well in preparation. But the bird didn’t move! The boy blinked. “Huh?” Was it stuck or something, or-?

Before he could finish his thought, the robo-penguin let out another squawk as it crouched down even further. And, after a couple seconds, it… It laid an egg?! Wait, no. Not just any egg… “Oh boy,” Dick mumbled, taking a couple steps back.

Snickering at his fear, the robot quickly kicked its egg-bomb towards the young hero. Dick squeaked, but still held his hands up to catch it, even if he did also close his eyes. Another second passed, and he felt something heavy and cold land in his eyes. Opening one eye up, he looked down and saw a ticking timer staring back at him.

Letting out another squeak, Dick started looking around. How was he supposed to get rid of a bomb?! Where-? Suddenly, he spotted it - a mostly empty dumpster in the front of an alley way! “Yes!” Pushing his nerves as far as they could go, he took a couple steps forward and tried his best to aim before kicking the bomb away.

The egg flew up high, and for a moment, Dick worried that he might have accidentally kicked it right into a building! Thankfully, its heaviness soon caused it to plummet, hitting the door of the dumpster right in the center and causing it to close just as the bomb itself fell into the container below. And not a second too soon it seemed, since it didn’t take very long at all for the bomb to explode. The dumpster, of course, crumbled into dozens of pieces, but it looked like the rest of the surrounding area had been spared.

“Phew….” Dick sighed - though he couldn’t relax for long. Thanks to its explosive distraction, the final robo-penguin had taken this chance to run away (or, maybe it was more like quickly waddle away) and try to escape. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Looking determined once more, Dick leapt up and grabbed onto a nearby street lamp. He flipped over it a couple times to gain up momentum before letting go, flinging himself towards the destructive bird and landing right on its back! With the robot now right under him, it didn’t take Dick long to find its power switch and turn it off. 

“Yes! Yay!” he cheered. Though, after a moment, he stopped and realized that he wasn’t the only one cheering. 

Turning around, he saw the huge crowd that had gathered around the bank (which was now umbrella-free), applauding as the Dark Knight himself descended down from the bank’s roof with an annoyed Penguin in tow. Grinning, Dick hopped down from the robot’s back and ran towards his father.

“Thank you, thank you,” Batman said as he waved at the crowd, “I mean really, you’re all too kind! It was no big deal, just me saving the day!” Still, his audience continued to shout out compliments, which Batman of course answered, all while he tried to give out as many high fives as he could. As for Dick, he just made sure to stay by his father’s side - though he also made sure to wave and smile for the crowd too, even if they didn’t really pay much attention to him. 

Eventually, the two made their way to the Bat-Mobile, giving one last wave before getting in. “Gosh, that was GREAT! Huh, Dad?” Dick grinned. Even if it wasn’t exactly his first bad-guy thwarting, the thrill was still definitely there. 

“Yep, saved the day again,” Batman smirked as he started the engine, “Penguin didn’t stand a chance.”

“Heh, no way! And it was fun too!”

“You’re darn right it was!” Batman then pressed a button, and the Bat-Mobile shot forward, quickly getting on the nearest freeway. “Though, I guess we shouldn’t brag _too_ much about how awesome it was,” he told him, “Babs and Alfred might get jealous.”

Dick chuckled. “Heh, right.” Though, it had been Barbara and Alfred’s choice to stay behind on this mission, just because they both had important issues to take care of that night, so he didn’t think they would get too jealous. And honestly, their absence that night hadn’t been that big of a deal. Sure, beating up bad guys with a team was definitely more fun than doing it alone. But hey, sometimes a little father-son crime fighting time could be just as great!

“…Hmmm…” Batman hummed, glancing down at the Bat-Mobile’s computer. It really wasn’t _that_ late, and it had been a while…

“Hm? What is it?” Dick asked curiously.

“Oh, nothing… Just thinking about how we can maybe spread some of this fun around,” Batman replied, and before his son could ask for details, he sharply turned onto another road. Looking down at the map on the screen, it didn’t take long for Dick to figure out just what the hero was planning - and of course, he totally agreed with it. 

Taking hardly any time at all to get there, the Bat-Mobile soon screeched to a halt in front of a building that was pretty familiar for both of them. And, even if they were both wearing their newly installed seat belts, Batman still held his arm out in front of Dick, just in case. 

Once the car was completely stopped though, the hero didn’t waste any time and hopped out of the car, honking the horn before opening the door. Turning to the passenger side window, Dick’s smile softened a bit as he looked out at his old home. Within seconds, he saw dozens of orphans - old friends and acquaintances, as well as a few new kids - race out to meet their hero. 

“Hey kids!” Batman greeted, waving at them from on top of the roof of his car, “It’s really great to see you all again! So, who’s your favorite hero?”

“BATMAN!” all the kids - including Dick, who had started getting out of the car so he could watch - replied loudly and proudly.

The Dark Knight grinned. “Great answer! Alright!” Of course, it didn’t take long for the merch gun to come out and start firing free Batman-themed goodies out for all the kids - as well as giving Dick another small pinch of nostalgia. It was honestly pretty hard to believe that he had been in that same crowd of orphans just a couple months ago…

He never did get any of that merch, always getting there too late and only managing to get a glimpse at his hero for his troubles… ‘Maybe I should ask,’ Dick thought to himself. Though, considering who his parent was now, the idea seemed kinda moot. After all, who needs merch when you have the actual person? Still, there was nothing saying that he couldn’t be a fan of his dad’s, and having a Batman tee or hat would still be really cool!

“…Hey, look!” “Whoa, is that Robin?” 

The boy blinked, and looked out into the crowd. Did someone just say-?

“Look, Robin’s here!” “Wow!” “It’s Robin, look!” “Robin! You’re so cool!”

“I - Huh?” Before he could even fully realize what was happening, Dick had a whole crowd surrounding him, looking at him with the same awe and amazement they gave his father. “Wait, you- You guys know me?”

“Yeah!” a few of the kids answered, “You’re awesome!”

“You helped save the city with Batman!” “You’re a hero - AND you’re a kid!” “You’re just so cool!” “Yeah, go Robin!”

The compliments just kept coming, and all Dick could do was stare wide-eyed at all the orphans - at his fans. He just couldn’t believe it… He never would have thought that he would actually have fans! That he would actually have people who looked up to him just as much as he looked up to Batman. But, there they were.

Speaking of which, Batman was pretty surprised as well - both at the situation, and at just how quickly he had lost his crowd. But even so, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight, just a little. Jumping down from his car, he put a hand on Dick’s shoulder. “Yep, Robin’s the best. Am I right, kids? Best sidekick there is! The Boy Wonder, right here!”

The kids cheered louder in agreement, shouting things like “Go Robin!” and “Fly Robin Fly!”.

“…You know kid, you should at least wave back at your fans,” Batman whispered to him, “Especially when they’re _this_ happy to see you.”

“…” Slowly, Dick started to grin. Blinking back a couple tears, he backflipped onto the hood of the Bat-Mobile and struck a heroic pose. The kids went wild, cheering as loud as they could and even chanting his name! He even heard Batman join in a couple times!

And honestly, all Dick could do was smile.

()()()()()()()()()

Despite being ‘secret’, it was still pretty easy to hear when one of the manor’s hidden doors opened up. Alfred glanced up at the clock. It was actually only about one am, not too late for a dark knight. But, with someone to help him out, it was no wonder that he was finishing his nights twice as fast.

“Good evening-” Or rather, morning- “to you both, Master Bruce and Mas-” As he turned to look at the duo, he quickly noticed that Dick was wiping his eyes. “Master Dick, are you alright?” he asked, now full of concern.

But Dick just smiled widely at him, despite his eyes still being a bit teary eyed. “Don’t worry, Grandpa, I’m okay. Great, even!”

“Just a little emotional,” Batman added, giving the boy a small pat on the back, “No big deal. Oh, but hey, Alfred, do you think that you could put together some Robin merch? You know, tee shirts, hats, cups, pretty much anything that can be shot out of a merch gun. …Hmm, maybe some Robin Birdseed? Kids like birdseed, right?”

Holding back a chuckle, Alfred nodded. “Of course, Sir, I’ll get to work on that right away.”

“Great, thanks, Alfred.” “Thanks Grandpa!” With that, the duo started heading towards the kitchen for their usual late-night supper. Though, as they walked, Dick still kept a small smile on his face. Not his usual overly excited smile, but definitely a happy one.

“Heh, I guess this sorta makes it official,” he quietly spoke up after a few moments, “I’m… I’m actually a hero!” A hero with his own great (and sparkly) costume, super skills, a superhero family to fight with, and now, his own group of fans.

“Yep…” Batman replied simply, giving his son a small smile in return, “Never doubted it for a second.”

**THE END**


End file.
